Newly launched – the Adder Status Project 2012

Following on from an ARG UK regional meeting, focusing solely on adders, organised by the Kent Reptile and Amphibian Group (KRAG) in November 2011, an urgent need was identified to determine the status of adders across the UK. Funded by Natural England and Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, ARC commissioned Chris Gleed-Owen (CGO Ecology Ltd) and Steve Langham (Natural Acuity Ltd), to undertake the Adder Status Project (ASP). This ambitious and innovative project aimed to draw together empirical data on adder occurrence, and through spatial analysis and geological and land cover correlation, develop predictive models for the distribution and status of adders over two time periods, termed historic (up to 2005), and present (2006-2011).

The next steps will be to ground truth the model developed by the project through field surveys and further consultation of field practitioners, and use the information to inform management practices and conservation policy, with the objective of revising the national Species Action Plan for the adder.